Author: News Room

Concerns about inflation and weak consumer sentiment dragged down the stock market on Friday, as Wall Street keeps struggling to assess the path forward for the U.S. economy with the full impact of President Trump’s tariffs looming.The S&P 500 inched down at the start of trading, after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure came in hotter than economists had expected, intensifying worries about inflationary pressures. The index later extended its decline, falling roughly 1.8 percent by midday and putting the benchmark on track for a weekly loss. Investors also digested new data from the University of Michigan that showed consumer…

Years before President Trump returned to the White House, his budget chief, Russell T. Vought, began mapping out a plan to shrink the federal government.In Mr. Vought’s design, spending would be slashed by about $9 trillion over the next decade. Entire federal programs — from housing vouchers to student loans — would be eliminated. The government would fire thousands of civil workers, including those who investigated tax fraud. And Washington would restrict aid to the poor, requiring Americans to work in exchange for benefits.The ideas formed the bedrock of Mr. Vought’s plan to end the “woke and weaponized” bureaucracy, a…

More than a month after Washington and Kyiv first haggled over a deal to grant the United States a major stake in Ukraine’s mineral, oil and gas development projects, the two sides are back to square one in the negotiations.Washington has sent Kyiv a new proposal that restates the sweeping financial demands from an initial draft agreement rejected by Ukraine, and adds new ones that could burden the country’s finances for years. Several Ukrainian lawmakers suggested that Ukraine could not possibly accept such a deal and that new negotiations would be needed.President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Paris on Thursday…

Americans hoping for some relief on inflation suffered a setback in February, as new data showed underlying price pressures intensifying even before the latest escalation in President Trump’s trade war.The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, after stripping out volatile food and energy items, climbed 2.8 percent in February from a year earlier, outpacing January’s annual pace. On a monthly basis, these “core” prices ticked up another 0.4 percent, higher than the monthly increase in January. Both were slightly higher than economists had expected.Overall inflation came in at 2.5 percent, a level that sits well above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent…

The law firm Jenner & Block sued the Trump administration on Friday, seeking to stop an executive order leveled against the firm this week that could cripple its ability to represent clients.The suit is the second time that a law firm targeted by President Trump has decided to fight back in court and will open a new front in the month-old battle Mr. Trump has waged on law firms.“Today, Jenner & Block filed a lawsuit to stop an unconstitutional executive order that has already been declared unlawful by a federal court. We expect to prevail quickly,” the law firm said…

The canary in the coal mineCoreWeave just pulled off the first big initial public offering this year — and the results were far from heartening.The company, which rents computing power to the artificial intelligence industry, shrank its I.P.O. far below initial expectations before Friday’s anticipated trading debut. That’s even after Nvidia, which owns a stake in the company, committed to buy more shares as part of the offering.The big question is whether CoreWeave’s troubles speak to only one company — or to broader economic conditions, which would portend trouble for the embattled I.P.O. landscape as a whole.How far short did…

At a backyard barbecue in San Pedro, Argentina, last May, Rafael Flaiman spotted a friend wearing a light blue blazer that looked a little too snazzy for the occasion. He needled the guy a bit. What’s with the jacket? Mr. Flaiman asked.“La China pays,” the friend replied, with a triumphant smile.La China? Mr. Flaiman grew up in San Pedro, a struggling riverside town of 70,000, and for 16 years he’s been a reporter at La Opinión, the local newspaper. But he’d never heard of someone named La China — Spanish for the Chinese woman — and had no idea why…

Years before President Trump returned to the White House, his budget chief, Russell T. Vought, began mapping out a plan to shrink the federal government.In Mr. Vought’s design, spending would be slashed by about $9 trillion over the next decade. Entire federal programs — from housing vouchers to student loans — would be eliminated. The government would fire thousands of civil workers, including those who investigated tax fraud. And Washington would restrict aid to the poor, requiring Americans to work in exchange for benefits.The ideas formed the bedrock of Mr. Vought’s plan to end the “woke and weaponized” bureaucracy, a…

Automakers can respond to President Trump’s new 25 percent tariffs on imported cars and parts in several ways. But all of them cost money and will lead to higher car prices, analysts say.Manufacturers can try to move production from countries like Mexico to the United States. They can try to increase the number of cars they already make here. They can stop selling imported models, especially ones that are less profitable.But whatever carmakers decide, car buyers can expect to pay more for new and used vehicles. Estimates vary widely and depend on the model, but the increase could range from…

The Sundance Film Festival is venturing to a new ski town.After a year of deliberations, copious site visits and scores of plane rides, the board of the Sundance Institute has chosen Boulder, Colo., to host its film festival beginning January 2027.“Boulder is a tech town, a college town, it’s a really creative town,” Eugene Hernandez, the festival’s director, said. “It’s just a really creative place. And that integration of the artsy community with the university side of it all is really dynamic.”It’s also 10 times the size of Park City, Utah, where the festival has been held since the actor…